16 cases linked to Maroubra party as NSW case numbers soar

Health Minister unleashes over party held in a beachside Sydney suburb that has led to 16 new cases and counting.

An illegal gathering in a beachside suburb in Sydney has been revealed as a superspreader event as case numbers in NSW soar.

Authorities said 16 cases reported on Saturday attended a party in Maroubra on August 14, with a number of them spreading the virus on to their individual close contacts.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said up to 60 people attended the party in Sydney’s south east and expressed fury at those defying strict health orders across the state.

The state recorded 825 new locally acquired cases on Saturday and three deaths.

“Each of these people who are going to these functions must understand that they run the risk of either having the virus and transmitting it or getting the virus and taking it home to their families and their communities,” Mr Hazzard told reporters.

Sydney residents are furious the tough restrictions won’t be enforced on the eastern suburbs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“There is no time now to be selfish — it’s time to think of the broader community and your families. If you are actually spreading the virus, you could be responsible for peoples’ deaths.”

On Friday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said increased restrictions would be imposed on 12 local government areas across Sydney’s west, including a curfew.

The move has sparked anger across the city with many accusing the state government of preferencing affluent suburbs despite clear examples of noncompliance also occurring in the east.

The Premier has faced criticism about the pandemic response. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Asked on Saturday why the western suburbs were “bearing the brunt” of the strict policies, Ms Berejiklian said attendees at the Maroubra party included a significant number who came from the 12 LGAs of concern.

She said that was “what shocked us most when we heard about it”.

“People left those local government areas of concern and attend the gatherings in other areas illegally,” the Premier said.

“Eighty per cent of cases are coming from the same part of Greater Sydney, it means that is where we need to put our resources and focus.”

The twelve LGAs of concern are Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Strathfield.